Rating: 
Summary: A good seismology primer, but an embarrasing romantic plot
Review: Being a resident of St. Louis, I was thrilled at the prospect of learning more about the nearby New Madrid Fault. Peter Hernon has distinguished himself as a first-rate researcher. His non-fiction history of the Anhueser-Busch dynasty is a terrific read. On a technical level, I thought 8.4 was interesting and well researched - as I expected it would be. Although I found the crazy nuclear bomb scenario, starring the President of the United States, strange, I could accept it. After all, this is a techno-thriller. I can suspend my disbelief on many levels. However, the one thing I will not accept is a cliche romantic subplot. I may be naive about the publishing industry, but I just don't understand why every techno-thriller must have a love story. Why the embarrasing, endless dribble about how Atkins looks into Holleran's eyes and sees "intelligence and beauty?" Here's an alternative and more appropriate love story for 8.4: Neutron, the robot - a sensitive and misunderstood soul, falls in love with the nuclear bomb he cradles in arms during the harrowing descent to 1,800 feet below the surface of the Earth. He refuses to allow the scientists to explode the bomb - a bomb he has grown to love for its beauty and (artificial) intelligence. Their love triggers a thrilling battle between man and machine - a battle that will seal the fate of the entire nation... What do you think? Yeah, that would be pretty bad too. Maybe the best solution would be to avoid writing sappy romance. Seriously, great science, the plot was silly, but fun - like a Dean Koontz novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Cardboard characters, off-the shelf 'plot'
Review: Don't buy this book. The characters are from central casting, and the alleged plot has been used in countless Hollywood disaster movies. The author assures us that the science in the book is solid... even if it were so: "SO WHAT!: buy a good geology book and be done with it".
Rating: 
Summary: Kept Me Reading Until the Very End
Review: Excellent scientific references, multiple story lines, but character development was a little weak and the romance could/should have been developed more. I thought the earlier parts were better and that some of the character and story development weakened as the conclusion drew closer.I've always liked "hard science" science fiction and post-apocalyptic novels. My measuring stick for this type being "Lucifers Hammer". This book is no "Lucifers Hammer", but it was a good read.
Rating:
Summary: A Thriller About the Ground Beneath Us
Review: Except for California, we usually think of the ground upon which we walk as pretty solid. Think again. The earth is crisscrossed by fault lines that may slip at any time, sending our secure abode into a terrifying earthquake. One of the most threatening fault lines is the New Madrid fault that runs through five states in the midwestern United States. This thriller puts us into the shoes of two geologists when the New Madrid fault cuts loose with a devastating earthquake that promises an even bigger one is coming. Their frantic efforts to head off "the really big one" puts them into spots where none of us would want to be. It will keep you in suspense, and you will learn a lot about earthquakes and our unstable earth.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not without its inaccuracies
Review: Hernon missed the mark on some geological and local facts (as pointed out by other reviewers here), but 8.4 still offers an entertaining read for anyone interested in disaster stories. Some subplots fall short (the romance was uninteresting and sabotage predictable), but for once it's an earthquake story that doesn't involve the destruction of the west coast, bringing into play historical accounts as well as the region's lack of preparedness for an earthquake. Like any disaster story, it gets shaky in some places, but if you can suspend your disbelief over inaccurate facts, it should prove to be entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Suspend your disbelief first!
Review: I actually quite enjoyed this book and flew through it. Peter Hernon has a very fluid writing style that made for an easy read. However.... Even though this was touted as a scientific thriller along the same lines as Michael Crichton, I think Hernon could have spent a bit more time researching the subject. Here's an example. A few times in the book we found the geologist and seismologist characters shrugging off the presence of hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen Sulfide is a naturally occuring gas that is often present in the production of natural resources like coal, oil and natural gas. It's distinctive rotten egg smell indicates its presence. But as any geologist or worker in the natural resource industry should know, it is a deadly gas in concentrations as low as 0.01%. One character, who happens to be a former senior level mine worker, even goes so far as to say, "It sure as hell stinks but I don't think its gonna kill you." These characters and Hernon should definitely know better. I am not a seismologist by any stretch but instances like this really destroyed the book's scientific credibility for its entire earthquake premise. Certain things like the books climax of setting of a nuclear bomb in a mine shaft in the hopes of preventing further earthquakes didn't make sense. The characters hoped to relieve seismic stress with the blast of the bomb. Everyone stop and think about this for a second.... Doesn't make a whole lot of sense does it. The characters were well enough cast for the story but they too made some blunders that just didn't make sense. Remember the movie "Armageddon" where they sent a crew of smelly oil rig workers into space to drill a hole in a comet. If that made sense to you, this one will absolutely thrill you. Without continuing with what was wrong with the book I'll reiterate that it was an entertaining read but please be sure to check your scientific mind at the door.
Rating: 
Summary: gave me goosebumps!
Review: I don't care what those other guys think. This was a wonderful book. Kept me riveted. Gave me goosebumps on at least two different occasions. I read an average of three books a week and this one was great. I definitly could picture the characters as real people. I live in Oregon where we do have earthquakes once in a while and I have read about the New madrid fault many times and do not think I would wish to live on it. Captivating plot and is worth the money you pay for it. WONDERFUL!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting story concept, too much technology.
Review: I found the story line in this book interesting but the technical details were a bit much to grasp for a layman. More character development and less emphasis on geology and seismology would have made for a more intriguing story. I enjoyed the book, but I am a true fan of "disaster" stories. This one could have been much better.
Rating:
Summary: More interesting if you live in the area ....
Review: I give 8.4 a 3.0. This book is obviously about earthquakes. The New Madrid Faultline (NMSZ) - think Memphis - is infamous for the historical triad of earthquakes that happened in 1811-1812. It's present day, and one of our heroes, Elizabeth Holleran (seismologist), comes into some information that leads her to believe that it's probably going to happen again.
As she's on her way to Memphis, to tell the Big Earthquake Guys, the first earthquake hits (great & scary descriptions of what an earthquake IS exactly - how the earth is shifting) - at a 7.1 on the Richter scale.
Of course we have to go through the scene where all the politicians (and our other hero, John Atkins - geologist) don't believe Holleran's theory, dismiss her ... and we all know what happens next. The 8.4 earthquake hits, and this causes massive destruction all across the land. The fault line has doubled in size! Holleran reiterates her belief that the 7.1 and 8.4 earthquakes that strike along the NMSZ are just a precursor to the really big one.
The character development and the unnecessary romantic storyline are what garnered this a 3.0 and not a 5.0. Atkins and Holleran aren't very interesting characters - and I just never grew to like Atkins. He was kinda slow on figuring things out (ignoring classic earthquake signs, totally dismissing the Triad-Earthquake theory) - especially considering he's supposed to be 'an expert' in the field. Although, my mom pointed out that the main character of the book is the earthquake - not Atkins or Holleran. So, I guess if you look at it that way, the main character rocked my world.
My mom read this book 2 weeks before needing to go to Memphis for a conference ... it shook her up a bit. We live only three hours from Memphis, and it is a bit disturbing to hear of how far the destruction from an earthquake there would reach. In the 1811-1812 quakes, lakes formed in Tennessee, church bells rang in Boston, and the mighty Mississippi ran backward. Isn't the earth amazing?
Rating:
Summary: The editor didn't read the last draft
Review: I give the book 1 star - not because the science isn't accurate, (although he does get a few things right), and not because the love story is lame (because it is), but because of the hilarious lapses in continuity. I grew up near Kentucky Lake, so I know the area quite well. If he wants to call the road over Ky. Dam US 621, that's OK, but a few pages later he calls it by it's correct name of US 641. The same is true for US 51 (or 61, depending on what page you're on), Reidland or Raitland, Central Avenue or Cottage Avenue...it goes on like this. I'll let others who are more knowledgeable about the science (like my friends at the very earthquake research facility in Memphis the author refers to constantly) tear it apart, but I do know enough to realize when a basic description of the geology and geography of my hometown and it's surrounding area is totally incorrect. And how can people be standing on the shores of a lake that was formed by the very dam the author destroys a few chapters previous? That said, if you are stuck in an airport or find yourself with too much time on your hands, and there's an abandoned copy of 8.4 on the seat next to you, you could do worse. The descriptions of the actual seismic events are rather disturbing (especially now that I am living in the doomed town of Memphis), and you'll take a new look at how your houses and offices are constructed. But next time Mr. Hernon, fire your editor, bone up a bit more on your science, and please buy a map of the area you're writing about.
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